


The Heart of A Ranger

by Aceofstars16



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: F/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-02 15:40:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5253806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aceofstars16/pseuds/Aceofstars16
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Warning! This place takes place after The Royal Ranger! Although there are no major spoilers in it yet I cannot say the same will be true of future chapters!</p>
<p>After being rescued by Will and Maddie, Tim cannot help but wish he himself was a Ranger. His life on the farm is hard and his parents don't seem to care about him even after he had almost been shipped across seas. Thus Time decides to find the Ranger of his fief and test his luck and see it he is worthy to become a part of the Ranger Corps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Runaway

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote the first few chapters of this a while ago so the writing style may be different than my newer fics/chapters. I don't know when I will next update this, but I do have a while plot lined out so I just need to write it! ^^

“Tim! Are you even listening to me?!?”

The angry yell sounded through the air and a young brown haired boy snapped to attention. A sigh escaped the teenage’s mouth. Why couldn’t his parents just give him five minutes to think?

“Yes da I’m listening.”

“Huh, well you sure don’t seem like it seeing as I told you to bring in the cows five minutes ago…they are still out in the field…NOW GO GET THEM!!!” The farmer yelled at his fourteen year old son, the annoyance apparent in his eyes.

“Yes da…” Tim said, holding back a sigh that he knew would only get in more trouble. 

“Well get to it then!!!”

A grimace grew on the young man’s face but he didn’t say anymore as he quickly grabbed a small bin of grain and made his way out of the barn and stared heading towards the pasture. Unlike other times in the past he knew his dad had a right to be mad. After all he had forgotten to get the cows…if only Devon wasn’t so mean to him.

“I almost wonder if I would have been better off with The Stealer…” he muttered then immediately shook his head. No, he knew he was better off here, maybe not that much but still… At the thought of The Stealer Tim couldn’t help but smile ever so slightly as he remembered the two Rangers who saved him and all the other kids who had been captured. There had been Will Treaty of course, probably the most famous ranger ever, and the young man couldn’t help but agree that he was indeed great. Though he still couldn’t help but feel a little confused. He had seen Will sobbing like crazy even though Ranger Maddie was perfectly fine. Ok, maybe not perfectly fine, but she was alive…Needless to say he really had no clue why the rough and tough ranger had acted in that way, but at the same time he figured there must have been a reasonable explanation so he tried not to think about it too much.

And then there was Maddie…she was only a year older than him, but she seemed so sure of herself…so confident and determined. Tim wished he could be half as assured her…if only he could do more than just help out around the farm. But no, this was his life, it was a depressing life full of chores, tough parents and little food, but it was a life none-the-less. 

The teen knew that he didn’t really have much choice in the matter, but at the same time he wished he could be more. Wished he could help others, be able to stand up to others, be a hero….but most of all he wished he could be a Ranger…Now that he had seen rangers up close the superstitions that surrounded them seemed to dissipate some. They were less scary and more admirable, role models that he desperately wanted to follow.

“TIM! What are you doing just standing there?!? Get to work!!!!”

Devon’s voice once again cut through Tim’s musings and immediately a rush of embarrassment wash over him. There he went again, getting lost in thoughts. Sighing again he waved his hand, letting his dad know that he heard him before walking up to the pasture gate and opening it up. He shook the bucket of grain and watched as their small flock of cows slowly made their way towards him. As they headed the open gate Tim made his way back towards the barn, casting a few glances back to make sure the cows were following him.

“There, that’s the last of them,” the brown haired boy said as he closed the door behind the last cow. Each one of them had their own stall but thankfully only one of the younger cows had put up a fight and after a slight smack on it’s rump the cow decided that it wasn’t worth the trouble and had reluctantly gone into it’s stall.

As Tim made his way out of the barn he frowned as he saw that the sun had already set and he guessed that supper had already been served, which meant he would go to bed hungry again. “Oh the joys of being a farmer…” he said, once again wishing he could do something else.

It was at that moment that a thought struck him. Maddie had only been a year older than him…maybe, just maybe there was a chance that he could become a ranger’s apprentice. His fifteenth birthday was only seven months away…it was still a wait but maybe…No, his parents would never let him. But who said they had to know? A plan started forming in the young man’s mind as he made his way back into the house, he would get out of here…one day…

 

———————————————————————————————————————-

 

There was no moon in the sky, making the open fields darker than normal, it was a perfect night for an escape. And it was just the night Tim had been waiting for. The now fifteen year old was lying on his thin mattress on the floor, eyes closed and breathing slow. Anyone would think he was sleeping, but in reality he was wide awake waiting until he knew his parents would be fast asleep. After at least two hours he opened his bright blue eyes. It was time. Adrenaline was pumping though his body as he slowly sat up. He grabbed a blanket and rolled it up before covering it with the light sheet he usually slept with. It didn’t look too good, but he figured it would fool his parents until morning.   
The teenager paused for a second, listening once again, making sure his parents were still asleep. The house creaked in the night wind but there was no sound coming from the separate room where his mother and father slept. Assured that he was still in the clear, Tim quickly grabbed the small sack that he was packed and hidden away earlier in the day. Making his way to the door he eased it open, wincing as it squeaked on the hinges. Not wanting to get caught he quickly closed the door and started racing across the fields, his thin soled boots thumped on the ground, but he ignored it and kept running knowing speed was his best chance at escape.

It was then that he heard a door open and a loud voice call out. “TIM! What are you doing, get back here right now!”

The brown haired teen winced as he heard the voice, but he didn’t stop running. He could, turn back of course, but he knew he would have quite a few beatings and a ton of chores as punishment. No, he wasn’t going back. This was his only chance at a new life, his only chance to become more than just a simple farmer. He just hoped the rangers would accept him, give him a chance, otherwise he had just made a huge mistake.


	2. Saved by the Bow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim is starting to regret running away. Aside from his lack of food and water, there are also other dangers in the woods that Tim is naively unaware of...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, this chapter was written a while ago so my writing style has changed some since I wrote it.

It was about mid afternoon when Tim collapsed on the ground. He had been running almost non-stop since he fled his home, only taking a few five minute breaks to catch his breath. In all honesty, he was a little worried. After all, he really didn’t know where to find a Ranger…ok he did know where to find one or at least he had a good guess. In the past he had heard that Rangers lived near the castle of their fief, but he had no clue where the castle was. So all in all he was tired, unsure of where he was even going and starting to wonder if he ever should have left home in the first place. Seriously, was he even fit to be a Ranger? Yes, he wanted to save lives and to be more than just a farmer, but what skills did he have that qualified him to become one of them? 

 These thoughts rushed around in the teen’s mind, but soon they started slowing, his tiredness over came him once again. Curling up on the grass, he closed his eyes and let himself rest, really rest, for the first time in hours. A wild boar could’ve come running straight at him and he wouldn’t have moved, his body was just too tired and he could feel himself drifting slowly towards the unconsciousness know as sleep. But as he drifted off, Tim felt the slightest nagging in the back of his mind, like he should have done something before resting, but it disappeared as quickly as it came and in a matter of seconds he was fast asleep. 

 —————————————————————- 

 As Tim’s eyes fluttered open the first thing he noticed was how dark it was. Night had already come to the forest and the moon barely shown through the trees. At first the teen was confused, where was he? Why wasn’t he in his bed at home? Then he remembered, he had run away, gone off to look for the Rangers. Sitting up, a low groan escaped his mouth as his muscles ached in protest. Only now did he realize how hard the ground underneath him was and although his bed at home wasn’t too much better, it at least had a little bit of padding. 

 "I should have slept on my blanket…“ he muttered to himself as he rubbed his sore back. The aching calmed down some, but he was still quite sore and his discomfort only grew as his stomach rumbled. He hadn’t had anything to eat in almost a day! Looking around the brown haired boy quickly spotted his sack and opened it up. He pulled out a small loaf of bread that he had packed and quickly dug into it. Only after he finished it did he realize how thirsty he was, but unfortunately for him he had forgotten to pack a canteen. 

 Getting to his feet, Tim swung the sack over his shoulder then looked around, trying to see if there was any sign of a path. Earlier in the day he had tried to avoid paths so that there would be less chance of him being spotted, but now it didn’t really matter. No one would be traveling this late at night and he figured a path might lead him to some water. But as he searched the teen couldn’t catch sight of anything that even resembled a path. He really wanted to find a path but he knew he needed get a move on. Mostly to find something to drink, but also to keep ahead of anyone that might be following him, though in all honestly he highly doubted his dad would chase after him for this long.

 Rubbing his back one more time, Tim started walking forward, his boots crunching on the leaves and grass that covered the ground. As he made his way onward something started to feel off, it reminded him of the feeling he had felt right before he had fallen asleep, as if something wasn’t quite right. Quickly he turned around and peered into the trees, trying to see if there was something out there, but it was too dark to spot anything distinct. Trying to shrug it off the young man started walking onward again, occasionally casting a glance over his shoulder. But each time he was unable to spot anything out of the ordinary. 

As he continued walking his thirst only grew and slowly he started paying less and less attention to any possibly danger and more attention to the thought of having some cool water fall down his parched throat. And that was the biggest mistake he could have made. With his mind so focused on finding water, Tim didn’t even hear the wolf until it was too late. 

 With a huge jump the black wolf slammed into the teenager, pinning him to the ground instantly. A surprised yelp escaped his mouth but was quickly cut off as his face was pushed into the ground. Fear pulsed through his entire body and Tim knew he needed to do something quickly or else the wolf would kill him without a second thought. Using his hands and legs the well muscled teen pushed up, trying to sit up, but the wolf was too heavy. It growled and bit into his shoulder, resulting in a scream from the young man. 

 Trying to hold back tears, Tim used his good arm to roll to the side, forcing the wolf to release it’s grip and freeing his body from the weight. By instinct he rolled into his back, only to realize his mistake as the wolf-who recovered quickly from his victim’s play at freedom - jumped on him again, pinning him down. The wolf’s yellow eyes glared at him, only a few inches away from his face and the blue eyed boy knew there was no escape. He would die at the hands of this beast. But in reality he knew he had brought it on himself. If he hadn’t run away then he would be safe at home, yes, he would have been miserable but at least he would have been alive… Or even if he had paid closer attention to his surroundings, he might have noticed the wolf sooner and somehow managed to avoid this fate. But this was not the case and as the wolf bared it’s teeth at him Tim closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable to happen… 

_Thwang!_  

The strange yet slightly familiar sound filled the air and was followed by a dull thud. Eyes snapping open the teen saw the wolf’s eyes widen in surprise before they glazed over. As the animal died, it slumped over and fell on top of the boy, knocking the breath out of him. Out of pure instinct the young farmer pushed the large body off of him, taking a deep breath as his chest was freed from the extra weight. Before he even had time to register what had just happened an unfamiliar voice sounded out through the night air. 

“Well, well, well what do we have here? A young boy out alone in the woods…what in the world are you doing here?!? You ruined my trap!”


	3. The Not So Rugged Ranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim found the Ranger of his fief, though not in the way he had planned, now he simply has to gather up the courage to ask if he can be trained as a Ranger...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what to names chapters...also this is still in my old writing style...And I love Seth, OCs are so fun!

Tim lay there on his back, not even comprehending what the man had just said. His brain was still trying to wrap around what had just happened. Unfortunately the archer wasn’t patient enough to wait for the teen to get a grip on reality. Stamping over to him, the cloaked figure reached down and grabbed the young man by his shoulder, pulling him to his feet. Unfortunately the man had grabbed Tim’s injured shoulder and a loud yelp escaped the kid’s mouth. 

 Immediately the Ranger-for now it was obvious that is what he was- clamped his hand over the farmer boy’s mouth. 

 "Be quiet, there might be more wolves around!“ he hissed under his breath, then he slowly removed his hand and this time as he spoke Tim thought he could hear a hint of embarrassment in the man’s tone. “Sorry about grabbing your shoulder, I didn’t know the wolf had gotten to you.” As he spoke the Ranger gently grabbed the teen’s arm and examined it, but after a minute he started muttering to himself. Tim couldn’t make it all out but he heard a few words here and there. “Stupid trees”, “No light”, and “First aid kit” where the ones that really stood out. 

 After a second the Ranger sighed then motioned for Tim to follow, “Follow me, that arm needs to be fixed up and I’d rather you be with me than out all alone, I don’t want to have wasted that arrow for nothing after all." 

In the past Tim might have done the opposite of what the man said. After all, Ranger’s were quite the mysterious folk and it was said they weren’t to be trusted too closely, at least in his village. But now the teen quickly followed. This was who he had been searching for, and it was quite lucky he has run into him…or really, been saved by him. And as he had seen from Maddie, or really more Will, Rangers seemed to act all rough and tough, but Tim guessed they really weren’t as hardened as they appeared to be. This Ranger had even sounded quite worried for him when he realized his arm was hurt. 

Any other doubts or worries Tim had where quickly replace by curiosity as he followed the Ranger into a small cove. Not even glancing at the teen, the Ranger quickly circled the perimeter of the clearing, picking up a few sticks and leaves as he did so. Then, once his survey was complete, he started arranging the wood in a teepee shape before getting to his feet and letting out a low whistle. Not a minute later a small chestnut horse came trotting into the clearing and the Ranger quickly went for the saddle and dug around in until he found what he needed. Crouching down, he put a few leaves in the space under the wood then he drew his saxe knife and ran it across the flint that he had retrieved from the saddle pack. A spark flew from the metal and landed in the dry kindling. Within seconds the fire grew and soon it was burning brightly, spreading light and flickering shadows all around the clearing. Once again the Ranger turned to his horse and grabbed something out of one of the packs, then he called out to Tim, breaking through the quiet of the night.

 "Come over here and sit by the fire. That wound needs to be cleaned out, unless you want it to get infected." 

At his words Tim jumped. He had been so focused on the fire, and in all honesty trying to ignore the pain, that the Ranger’s voice took him by surprise. He quickly got over it however and made his way to the fire, settling himself down next to it. His eyes were still focused on the way the light source flicked from side to side but then then a motion caught the corner of his eye and the brown haired boy turned to see the Ranger sitting down next to him. The older man placed a small pot on the fire then poured some water from a canteen in it. At the sound of the water, Tim remembered his thirst and quickly spoke up.

 "Uh…could I have a sip of that?” he asked, staring at the canteen, while licking his lips thirstily. “Of course not, it not even close to being fini….” the man started then stopped himself immediately, seeming to understand that the boy was asking for the water. “Oh…yeah, of course,” he said, handing the injured boy the canteen before scrounging around in his pack some more. 

 Snatching the water from the Ranger, Tim took a good long swig of the cool liquid, sighing appreciatively as his dry throat was soothed. Then he turned his attention back to the Ranger and looked with interest as he pulled out a small container, but that curiosity died away as he saw the cloaked man pull out a needle. 

 "Are you going to have to…uh…“ Tim started saying, then gestured to his arm in the needle, the fear evident in his voice. 

 But if the older man heard him, he didn’t show it, instead he placed the needle back in the container and pulled out a cloth, then glanced up at the teen. The shadow of a frown came over the man’s face before he spoke. 

"Could you take off your shirt? I need to have a good look at the wound." 

Tim nodded quickly and carefully took off his shirt, wincing at the pain that pulsed through his shoulder. Once the bloodied shirt was off, the Ranger carefully turned the blue eyed boy so that the firelight was shining on the wounded arm. At the sight of it, Tim quickly looked away, he didn’t like the sight of blood and the fact that it was his own blood only made it worse. He felt a stinging pain wash over his shoulder as the Ranger cleaned away some of the dried blood and it took all his self control not to whimper. Eyes closed, Tim waited silently as the man surveyed the wound, then flinched as he felt something being placed on his shoulder. It sent a warm sensation through the injured limb and made him feel a little more at ease. That is until he heard the rattle of metal. Immediately he knew that the cloaked man was about to use a needle to sew up his shoulder. Knowing it was coming only made the teen even more nervous and as the needle stuck into his skin he let out a loud yelp of pain.

 "For goodness sakes be quite!” The Ranger snapped, voice tense and slightly worried. This made the brown haired boy wonder if the man was just as uncomfortable around blood and injuries as he was. “Here, bite this if you need to." 

Peeking one eye open, Tim saw the man’s hand holding a piece of cloth. Quickly he grabbed it and nodded, letting the Ranger know he could continue. As the needle poked him again, the boy quickly bit down on the cloth to keep from letting out another yelp of pain. This continued for a few more minutes, then the young teen felt something pushing against his shoulder. Opening his eyes every so slowly he looked at the wound and saw that the Ranger was holding some gauze in place while he rummaged around in his pack once more. Pulling out a roll of white cloth, he carefully wound it around Tim’s shoulder, running it over his chest and around his body, making sure there was a firm pressure on it. Once he finished that, the Ranger got up and grabbed something else from his sack. Walking back over to Tim he handed it to him and the teen realized it was a shirt. 

Carefully, he pulled it over his torso, then looked up and saw the Ranger throwing a very small sack into the pot over the fire. He swished it around for a bit then sat back and let out a sigh. 

Feeling compelled to say something, Tim spoke up ever so quietly. "Thank you…for saving my life and fixing my shoulder up." 

"That’s what Ranger’s do,” the man said simply, then added, “But you still owe me an explanation as to why you were out on your own this late at night.” At that the young man shuffled uncomfortably. He really didn’t want to tell the Ranger that he had run away from home in hopes of training to become a Ranger himself…he didn’t really know what the man would think of that and in all honesty it sounded quite childish the more he thought about it. So instead he simply said, “I was looking for water.”

 "Oh, I see, so you just woke up in the middle of the night, realized you were thirsty and decided to walk all the way into the woods to find some water?“ It was obvious from the man’s tone that he wasn’t believing a word of it. 

This only made Tim more uncomfortable, and he sat there in silence for a few moments before sighing and saying, "I was looking for you.”

 "Oh really?“ the man said, pulling his cowl off of his face and raising both his eyebrows at the boy, before speaking in a questioning tone, "And why exactly were you looking for me?” As the Ranger pulled his hood off, Tim was distracted from the man’s question and instead found himself quite surprised to see that the Ranger was quite younger than he had first thought and if the teen had to guess he would say that he was in his late twenties, maybe early thirties. The next thing he noticed was the Ranger’s hair. In the past, he had always thought Rangers like to grown their hair out, letting it become shaggy and rugged looking, but that was not the case with this man. His red-brown hair was cut somewhat short, making it’s natural curls stick out in all different directions. He also lacked one other common Ranger trait, a beard. The man looked a little different than most Araluans; he had an almost foreign look with a slightly sharp face, comprised of high cheek bones, an almost beak-like nose, and eyes that looked a little more narrow than most. If he tried, Tim was sure he could look quite intimidating, but at the moment he looked quite calm, though there was a light of suspicion in his light green eyes as well. 

 "Well?“ the Ranger prompted, and Tim felt embarrassed once again as he realized he hadn’t answered the question yet. 

 Fiddling with his fingers, the teen looked at the ground and tried to figure out what to say, was there any way that he could justify why he had been out here without actually telling the truth? Or would he really have to admit that he had left because his parents were rotten, his life had no meaning, and he had simply followed his desires to become a Ranger? 

 A sigh from the exotic man brought Tim’s bright blue gaze back to eye level. He saw the man pull out two cups from a sack and watched as he grabbed the pot from the fire and filled both of them with the hot liquid. Picking one up, he handed it to the teenager, who took it carefully, not quite sure what it was. 

The Ranger picked up the other cup and took a sip, closing his eyes as he did so. It looked as if he was taking his own time sorting out his thoughts. When he opened those leaf green eyes again he motioned to Tim’s mug. "Drink some, it’s an herbal tea that helps you relax." 

Hesitantly, the teen took a small sip of the hot liquid and was surprised by the slightly bitter taste. He swallowed his sip and felt a rush of warmth flow through his body. As he took another sip, the Ranger spoke again. 

 "I don’t know who you are or why you are here and it’s obvious you don’t particularly want to tell me either if those things…but I need to know so I can get you back to your parents." 

Tim listened quietly as the man spoke, before sighing and saying in a small voice, "My parents aren’t looking for me…” he paused, not entirely sure that was true, but he didn’t want to expand on that so he switched the topic instead. “The reason I wanted to find you…well, the Ranger of this fief actually…which I’m assuming you are…" 

The man nodded silently and motioned for him to go on.

 "Uh…well I wanted to kind if be able to uh…you see I thought maybe I could…" 

"For goodness sakes, stop stammering and just spit it out already!” the Ranger in annoyance, making Tim flinch ever so slightly. 

“I want to become a Ranger.” The teen said quickly before he lost his nerve. 

At this the older man raised his eyebrows again, only to narrow them a bit. “And what makes you think you are qualified to be a Ranger?”

 "Umm…well I don’t know if I’m qualified or not, but I want to be able to protect and help people just like Ranger Will and Ranger Maddie helped me and..“ Immediately the red haired man raised his hands for Tim to stop.

 "Will and Maddie? They helped you? How?" 

"Umm well, they helped me and a few other children escape a band of rouges who were going to sell us as slaves…and after they did that it started making me wish I could help others like they did…”

 "Hmm, I see..,“ the Ranger said, taking a sip of his tea and seeming to contemplate Tim’s words before continuing. 

"Well it’s not completely up to me to decide if you can train to be a Ranger or not. I’d have to send a note to the Commandant first, to get his permission.”

 "Why do you have to get permission, I thought Ranger’s did whatever they wanted,“ Tim couldn’t help but ask. It seemed odd to him that a full time Ranger needed permission to take on an apprentice.

 "Ha, we like to think that we can do whatever we want, but there is some protocol that needs to be followed. For example, I’m a younger Ranger, not entirely new, but usually the Corps only let’s the older, more experienced members take on apprentices. Plus,” he said, narrowing his eyes slightly, “I don’t know much about you, or even if you are telling the truth. Us Ranger’s need to be careful in who we train, we never want our skills and secrets leaking out to the wrong people…" 

Tim could hear the suspicion in the older man’s voice and he quickly spoke up, wanting to reassure him that he wasn’t a spy, "I’m telling the truth! Honest, just ask Maddie, she’ll remember me!" 

Once again the Ranger held up his hand, "That’s what I plan on doing in sending a message to Gilan, but before I do that I need to know your name." 

"Tim, my name is Tim sir.”

 The Ranger nodded, “Tim, alright then…and don’t call me sir, my name is Seth." 

"Oh, yes Sir..eth…” the teen said, trying to fix his mistake but only making it more prominent in the process. 

Seth raised his eye brows again, “Right…now you better get some sleep. I want to get you back to your parents as quickly as I can before…”

 "NO!“ Tim practically shouted, then quickly regretted it as the Ranger shot him a sharp glance. Lowering his voice he continued, "Please, I can’t go back to my parents…I just can’t!" 

 A frown grew on Seth’s face but after a moment he sighed, "Fine, you can come with me, but if you aren’t approved by the Commandant then you are going straight back to your family, clear?" 

Blue eyes slipping to the ground the boy nodded slowly.

 "Good, now like I was saying, you should get some sleep, I’m leaving at dawn and if you aren’t with me then I’ll be leaving without you!” From the right person those words might have sounded threatening, but as Seth said them Tim could see that the a Ranger was only trying to appear strict. In all honestly he doubted the man would leave without him, but he didn’t want to take that chance so he quickly nodded. 

 "Good,“ Seth said simply then pointed the the cup of tea in the boy’s hands, "You should finish that first though, it’ll help you fall asleep faster." 

 Tim eyed the tea suspiciously. Sure, the warmth of it had felt good, but it had quite the odd taste that he didn’t particularly like. Looking up at the Ranger, he saw those green eyes watching him carefully as the man took a sip of his own tea. Trying to ignore the strong taste, the boy took a few more sips of the tea before handing the halfway empty mug to Seth. He could see the Ranger’s frown as he felt liquid still in the cup, but the cloaked man didn’t say anything. Instead he just dumped the leftover tea in the fire before putting the mug down and gulping down the rest of his drink. Then he got up, grabbed something from his saddle pack and handed it to Tim. 

"Now get some sleep." 

Taking the bundle, the teen unrolled it and saw that it was a blanket. This reminded his that he had forgotten to grab his sack with his own blanket in it, but he was too tired to bring it up. So instead he just curled up on the ground and closed his eyes, letting himself relax, and within a minute he was asleep.


	4. Tea is a Mysterious Thing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim and Seth make their way back to the Ranger cabin and Tim finds himself feeling feeling sorely unprepared and unequipped to do even the simplest tasks. Lucky for him Seth is a pretty patient teacher.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know what I'm naming these chapters...seriously like I just don't even know...And this is still my old writing style . Also a tidbit for anyone reading on here: Seth actually likes coffee but he is really picky about the kind of coffee he drinks, basically he is spoiled on Arridian coffee...xD

“Time to get up!”

A sharp voice interrupted Tim’s slumber and he slowly opened his eyes, squinting them as the light of morning shone down into the clearing. “Ugh…wha?” The brown haired boy said sleepily, he was still in the edges of sleep and he didn’t want to move. His shoulder hurt for some reason and he didn’t want to have to face up to the pain, sleep could solve that problem for him right?

“Get off your lazy butt right now! It’s already past dawn!”

The voice had grown in intensity and Tim detected the hint of a strange accent, something exotic sounding…who did he know that had an accent? Part of him knew he should know, but after sleeping his brain was foggy…Opening his blue eyes he looked up and saw light green eyes staring back at him, a light of annoyance flickering in them.  
“Seth!” Tim squeaked bottling upright as the sight of the Ranger brought all the events of yesterday back again.

“Of course it’s me, who else would it be?” 

“Uh…no one, I just forgot…sorry..” Tim said, feeling embarrassed that his sleepiness had once again made him briefly forget why he was where he was.

“You forgot,” Seth said in a flat tone then sighed before muttering under his breath, “For goodness sakes I thought young kids were supposed to remember better then older people but apparently not….Well you better get up, I’m leaving in ten minutes wether you are ready or not.” At the last part the Ranger raised his voice, it was obvious Tim wasn’t meant to hear the other part…but that didn’t stop him from feeling even more embarrassed.

“Yes si…” the teen said then froze as Seth cast him a hard stare, “Seth… yes Seth,” he corrected, remembering the conversation last night.

“Good,” the man said then walked over to his horse and started double checking the packs.

Getting to his knees, Tim tried to use his hands to stand up but winced as a sharp pain raced through his shoulder. Holding back a yelp of pain, the brown haired boy took a deep breath and was about to stand up when he saw the blanket Seth had lent him. Taking hold of it, he slowly folded it and then rolled it up, biting his lip to hold back a yelp every time his the wound in his shoulder was disturbed. Every once and a while he glanced up at Seth, now that it was daylight he noticed a few more things about the exotic looking Ranger. Mainly his height. Seth was tall, at least six feet…for some reason the teen had thought all Rangers were shorter, maybe that was because Maddie and Will weren’t that tall, but he also figured being shorter would make it easier to stay hidden. Part of him wanted to ask about it, but the other part didn’t want to accidentally hit on a sore spot, so the blue eyed teen just continued rolling up the blanket.

“For goodness sakes how long does it take to roll up one measly blanket!”

Seth’s voice shook Tim from his task and he felt himself going red in the cheeks, today just seemed to be the day for embarrassment, “Sorry, my shoulder is making it take longer…” He said, quickly finishing the job while trying to ignore the pain in his shoulder.

“Oh right, forgot about that…” Tim heard Seth say quietly.

“I thought it was only us youngsters who forgot things,” the teen couldn’t help but add, but he instantly regretted it when Seth flashed him a sharp glance.

“And I thought kids were taught better manners…” The Ranger said, his voice low, but even then Tim thought he caught the slightest bit of embarrassment in it…Seth definitely wasn’t as harsh as he was acting but the brown haired boy knew better than to goad him further so instead he got up and handed the rolled blanket to the tall man.  
“Thanks for letting me borrow this…” He said, pausing as Seth shot him an angry glare, he probably thought it was a quip at his comment on manners, but then he seemed to see that the blue eyed teen was being genuine so he nodded.

“No problem, but next time you can use this,” the exotic Ranger said, handing the boy his pack, the one that he had forgotten to grab last night.

“How did you…?” Tim started, but was cut off by Seth’s reply.

“I figured even a naive kid such as yourself wouldn’t run off without some provisions so I went back to the spot where the wolf was and looked around until I found it.”  
Nodding in understanding, the teen grabbed the pack and opened it up. Inside he found his blanket…but that was all. Some woodland creatures must have smelled his other loaf of bread and eaten it because all that he saw were a few crumbs in the bottom of the sack.

“Alright, time to go.”

Seth’s voice broke the silence and the farmer boy nodded, “Oh ok….” he trailed off for a moment, looking at the Ranger’s horse. “I don’t suppose you have another horse for me to ride?” 

“No, I don’t. This wasn’t meant to be a long trip and it’s not like I was expecting to find a kid in the woods who just happened to want to tag along with me,” the Ranger said, glancing at Tim for a second before jumping into his horse’s saddle. “But you have two legs, so I don’t see much of a problem.” 

He hadn’t even finished speaking before his horse started trotting forward. Taken by surprise, the teen had to sprint to catch up with the Ranger and even then he had to stay at a steady jog to avoid falling behind.

They continued this pace for about an hour, but after a while the pain of running and the exhaustion overtook the teen. Every time Tim’s feet had hit the ground, a shock of pain would shoot through his shoulder. And even though he was in decent shape, he wasn’t used to running so much and soon he was falling behind. Finally he couldn’t keep it up anymore, and he had to stop in his tracks. He was panting and leaning over, all the while trying to ignore the throbbing in his shoulder. Part of him knew he should have told Seth before he just stoping, but he didn’t have the breath to talk, let alone yell so that the Ranger would have heard him over the sound of the horse’s hooves. Tim was still trying to catch his breath when he heard hoof steps coming towards him. Glancing up, he saw Seth riding his horse back towards him, a small frown on his face.

“Stand up straight! Bending over like that might feel good but it doesn’t actually help you get your breath back faster, it actually does the opposite,” the Ranger called out and the teen quickly obeyed. Maybe standing up straight was supposed to help him in the long run, but it sure didn’t feel like it at the moment.

“I thought farmers were supposed to be fit,” Seth said as he stopped his horse beside Tim and jumped down. His horse bobbed its head up and down and the tall Ranger laughed quietly. This succeeded in thoroughly confusing the teenager, but he didn’t ask about it instead he just replied.

“We are, but we aren’t used to running around all over the place.”

Seth just shook his head and patted the chestnut horse’s neck, and muttered to himself. “At this rate we won’t get back to my cabin until tomorrow evening at the latest.” Once again the horse seemed to respond by shaking its mane and snorting.

Tim stood there silently, still breathing quite hard, but at least he wasn’t gasping for breath anymore. “Couldn’t we just find another horse for me to ride?”

“Do you see any horses sitting around waiting for you to ride them?” Seth asked, raising his eyebrows at the teen.

Tom sighed, “No…”

“No what?”

“No, I don’t see any horses around…” the brown haired boy said dejectedly. 

At that Seth’s horse snorted indignantly and the Ranger shook his head silently, “You should be careful not to insult Stepper like that again. He may be a part pony but he still has some horse in him and he doesn’t like being insulted.”

“The horse…uh…horses can’t be offended…” Tim said but was cut short as Stepper snorted and gave him the stink eye, as if daring him to say more. 

At that Seth laughed lightly, “I warned you not to insult him, you better hope he’ll forgive you otherwise you are going to have to keep walking.”

“Wait, what? Me ride with you?….isn’t that a little too much weight for one horse?” The teen couldn’t help but blurt out before he remembered that Maddie’s pony had carried three kids…and he guessed Stepper could carry even more due to his bigger size. 

As if in reply to Tim’s question, the chestnut horse snorted and shook his head, looking almost the same as his owner who was shaking his head and chuckling. 

“Oh I think his old bones can hold us both,” Seth said, stepping out of the way as his horse tried to bump him with its head. Once Stepper was finished with his antics, the tall Ranger stepped towards him and whispered something in his ear, pointing to the brown haired boy as he did so. The horse shook his head as if nodding, then Seth put his foot on the stirrup and swung on.

“Alright, up you go,” the Ranger said, reaching his hand out to the teen. Tim nodded silently and grabbed hold of Seth’s hand before jumping up, trying to get on the horse’s back. He fell short, his leg was barely on the horse’s rump and he could feel himself sliding off. But then the Ranger pulled hard and somehow managed to drag the boy onto the horse.

“We are going to need yo work on your mounting skills,” Seth muttered as he lightly tapped Stepper’s side. The horse jumped forward into a smooth canter.  
Tim, who wasn’t expecting the quick transition, almost fell off the horse, but he quickly grabbed onto Seth and somehow managed to stay on.  
Having never really ridden a horse before, the blue eyed boy bounced up and down awkwardly as the Ranger’s horse cantered on, this was going to be one long ride…

 

—————————————————————————

 

It was getting dark by the time they reached Seth’s cabin. “Too late to send a message today, I’ll do it first thing tomorrow,” the Ranger said as Tim dismounted awkwardly, landing on his hands and knees.

Once the boy was on the ground, Seth followed suit, then walked to the door of the cabin and opened it, pulling it close the the hinges while he did so.

“Head inside and get a fire going,” he said as he walked back to Stepper and grabbed the reins.

At first Tim didn’t realize the Ranger was talking to him, but when those green eyes kept staring at him he nodded quickly, “Oh, yeah, ok!”

Seth rolled his eyes and said something inaudible to his horse who seemed to nod in agreement. Then he lead the chestnut horse towards a small stable behind the cabin.  
Before the cloaked figure was out of sight, Tim was already inside the cabin. Looking around he caught sight of a fireplace, and looked for some wood, but then he realized the wood would be stored outside of the cabin. Heading back out into the cool evening air, the teen quickly found the wood stack and grabbed an armful of it. Once he was inside again, he dropped his load onto the ground and then started trying to arrange it. He knew there was a certain patten you needed to use, but he had only started a fire a few times before and his dad had done the majority of the arranging. Tim sat there for a while, trying to figure out what to do and he was still doing so when Seth walked in.

“Where’s that fire?” The Ranger said, his questioning tone unsettling the teen a little bit.

“I’m working on it, I just uh…haven’t really made a fire before….” the farmer boy said in embarrassment.

“Oh for goodness sakes…” Seth muttered under his breath, “Move out of the way.”

Scooting to the side the teen was expecting the Ranger to show him how to build the fire, but he was wrong. Instead the tall man just quickly set the wood in a teepee like shape before grabbing some paper than was in a basket next to the fireplace. Crumpling some up of it up, he placed it under the wood and then used his flint to light it. The paper caught on fire quickly and soon the logs were blazing.

Leaning back Seth looked at Tim and motioned to the fire, “And that is how you build a fire…” He said simply then sighed. “I was planning on making some food, but that’ll take too long.” And with that he got to his feet and grabbed some dried meat from the kitchen, handing a few pieces to the teen.

Tim held back a slight groan. They had eaten the same dried meat during one of their breaks while riding. It wasn’t bad, but it was tough and not very filling…With a small sigh he took a bite out of the meat and chewed it slowly, looking up as Seth walked over to the kitchen and grabbed a kettle. He filled it with some water from a bucket he had brought in before he had built the fire. 

“Hopefully some tea will help wash down this dry stuff,” the Ranger said as he placed a tea bag in the warming water. 

Tim glanced at Seth, giving him a questioning look.

“What? I know this meat isn’t the best, there no use in denying it,” he said simply as he swished some of the water in the kettle. 

The two of the chewed slowly on their meat until the tea was ready, then Seth poured both of them a mug. As the teen took a sip of the warm liquid, he let out a sigh of contentment, it was a welcome change to the meat and he was surprised to find that it tasted different than the tea Seth had made before.

“This tastes different than before…”

“Well it should, I used a different blend, ” Seth said simply as he took a sip from his own mug. 

Once again the two sat in silence, sipping their tea and chewing the meat in silence. After twenty minutes or so, Seth stood up and stretched out his back. “I think it’s time I hit the sack,” he said simply.

“Umm, where should I sleep?” Tim couldn’t help but ask.

“You can sleep in the spare bedroom, you’ll have to put the sheets on yourself though, I don’t just keep the bed made all the time,” as he spoke the Ranger gestured to an open doorway. “And I suggest you get to bed soon, I’m getting you up at dawn no matter what and you’ll want to be well rested because tomorrow you are going to do some cleaning.”


	5. Time to Learn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim and Seth settle into a routine around the cabin. Meanwhile, Seth waits to hear back from Gilan about Tim joining the Corps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still my old writing style. This is the last chapter I have written so far and I wrote it a while ago. Hopefully I'll work on the next chapter soon. Also, fun fact: Stepper is actually the name of a horse my sister rode when we took lessons a while ago.

A sigh escaped the tall figure as he looked at the sleeping boy, he knew he should carry out his words and wake him up but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. The teen would still be tired after his excursions and more sleep would help his arm heal faster-that is if it ever healed fully… That was one of the things that had been weighing on Seth’s mind for the past day. When he had been cleaning up Tim’s arm he had noticed how some of the muscles seemed to be cut up pretty bad. Now he was no expert, but the Ranger couldn’t help but worry that the boy’s muscles might never heal properly.

Shaking his head the auburn haired man pushed away his worries and turned from the doorway, letting Tim sleep a little longer. “You are such a softie,” he muttered to himself as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a pen and a sheet of paper. Quickly he wrote down some quick instructions for Tim letting him know that he was going out and that he needed to have breakfast ready by the time he got back. Placing it on the table, Seth then made his way to the stables.

“Hey Stepper you recovered from yesterday?” he said as he stepped inside. At that the chestnut horse snorted indignantly  _Are you kidding me! I could have kept up that pace for days! Though that kid really needs to learn how to sit on a horse properly._

A chuckled escaped the Ranger and he nodded his head, “You got that right, if he’s accepted we’ll have to fix that.”

Even as he was still speaking Steeper looked at his rider meaningfully,  _You want him to be accepted don’t you?_

Seth frowned at that, not quite sure how to respond, so instead he grabbed his saddle and started tacking up. 

_Gorlog knows you need someone to liven you up a bit…_

“What? What are you talking about I’m plenty lively and how do you even know who Gorlog is? You’ve never even been to Skandia!”

_Neither have you smarty pants and if you must know I learned it from Tug…and to answer your previous statement, you have been acting a little bit like an old man recently, you could use that kid to help you get out of that._

Seth stared at the chestnut for a few moments, frowning at him. Steeper had always been a big talker, not that that was always a bad thing, seeing as it kept the Ranger preoccupied on long rides. But it also meant he had a whole lot of sassiness to deal with and that could get annoying fast. “I have an idea, why don’t we just wait and see what Gilan says, sound good?”

At that Stepper bobbed his head then snorted, _Whatever you say….grandpa._

“Oh for crying out loud….” Seth muttered under his breath. Trying to ignore his horse’s whinny of amusement the tall Ranger quickly slipped the bride onto the horse’s head then hopped into the saddle. “Come on Steps, let’s go send that message…..and no more quips at my age along the way…”

Stepper shook his head, before bolting forward at the smallest signal from his rider,  _I’m not promising anything…._

 

———————————————-

 

An hour later Seth came riding back to the clearing and as soon as he saw the cabin a frown grew on his face. There was no smoke coming from the chimney and no smells of freshly cooked food either.

“I give him one task and he can’t even do that!” The Ranger grumbled to himself as he slid off of Stepper’s back and grabbed the bag that contained a few loaves of bread that he had bought at the bakery.

_Oh so I’m just supposed to sit here while you go inside and eat?_

The tall Ranger looked at his horse in annoyance, “I’m just going to see what is going on, be patient for five minutes ok?” 

The chestnut horse shook his head in annoyance but didn’t retort back, Stepper knew well enough that Seth wouldn’t start eating until he was taken care of.

“Good…” the auburn haired man said before making his way inside the cabin. As he opened the door the first thing he saw was Tim sitting in one of the chairs, holding a sheet of paper. At the sound of the door opening the teenager jumped up in shock, though the quick movement made him wince a bit.

“Where’s breakfast?” Seth asked, his voice low and slightly angry.

“Ummm….I uh… I thought you were getting it…” Tim said, lowering his blue gaze to the ground.

“You thought I was….didn’t you read my note?!? It’s in your hand for goodness sakes!” 

At the Ranger’s harsh words the young teen took a step back then slowly looked up at Seth, anxiousness and embarrassment shining in his eyes, “Well I…I…”

“What?!?! Spit it out!”

“I can’t read…” Time said quietly, looking to the ground once more.

Now it was Seth’s turn to be surprised, it had never occurred to him that the teen couldn’t read. Though in all honesty it made sense, after all, kids raised on a farm rarely got any formal education. A sigh escaped the tall Ranger’s mouth and he rubbed his forehead for a second, trying to figure out what he should do now. After all, a Ranger needed to know how to read and write. 

“Seth? I…I’m sorry…I should have told you or…”

Tim spoke up but the cloaked figure held up a hand, signaling the boy from going any further, “No, it’s not your fault, I should have known…” Another sigh escaped his mouth before he continued. “Why don’t you go outside and take Stepper to the barn, while I get some breakfast ready…make sure to feed him, the grain is all in one place, just put two scoops in his bucket.”

“Ok….and I’m really sorry…” the boy said, a downcast look shadowing his face.

Once again Seth held up his hand, “No more apologies, now go on outside, Stepper is not the most patient horse…” 

The teen shook his head slowly and walked outside. The auburn haired man watched him go and once again sighed at the complications that had now arisen due the fact that Tim couldn’t read. “Don’t worry about it right now…” he told himself as he strode into the kitchen and started boiling some water for tea. While it was heating up he started cutting up the bread he had gotten in town. Once there were several slices on a plate he walked over to a cupboard, opened it, grabbed a jar of preserves and placed them on the table. Then he walked over to the pot of water and added a tea bag into it. Seth had just started considering going outside to check on Tim and Stepper when the boy walked in, a bucket of water in his hand.

“I figure we could use some fresh water so I got some from the stream, I hope that’s ok…” the brown haired teen said, a little bit of nervousness creeping into his voice.  
“Of course that’s fine, I was going to send you to get some after we ate so you just saved yourself some work for later,” Seth said, then motioned for the teen to set the bucket on the ground, “You can set that down for now, breakfast is just about ready, grab the tea off of the fire would you?”

Within a few minutes they were both sitting around the table eating bread with preserves and sipping warm tea. Sure it wasn’t the most amazing breakfast but it was better than nothing. After all the bread was gone Seth continued sipping his tea, contemplating what to do next. “So, now what?” Tim asked after the silence had gone on a little too long for his taste.

“Hmmm, I think the cabin could use some spiffing up, don’t you think?” The Ranger said in response and gave he teen a meaningful look.

A groan escaped the brown haired boy, “I never should have asked….”

The tall Ranger just grinned then took a sip of tea before motioning to the living room, “Why don’t you start by sweeping?”

 

———————————————————————————

 

By mid afternoon Tim had cleaned most of the cabin, which involved sweeping the floor, cleaning out the fireplace and doing the laundry. All the while Seth spent that time going over reports from the Corps as well a as working on something that he seemed to hide every time Tim walked by.

A sigh escaped the young teen’s mouth as he walked in from outside of the cabin, some lumber in his arms. All he wanted to do was sit down and relax but he doubted Seth would allow him that pleasure. As he placed the wood in a small stack near the fireplace he rubbed his shoulder gently and winced as a wave of pain raced through it. During all of his chores he hadn’t really paid much attention to the shoulder, or at least he had tried to ignore it. Sure, it would hurt every now and then but now that he didn’t have anything to occupy his mind it was starting to throb quite a bit. 

“How’s the shoulder?”

Tim looked up to see Seth, still sitting in his chair, seeming to be reading something. It seemed uncanny that he had known Tim was just thinking about his arm, but maybe he had glanced but while the teen wasn’t looking or something. 

“Oh…Ummm…it’s hurting a bit actually…” Tim said, not wanting to complain but at the same time not wanting to lie to the Ranger.

“Hmm I thought it might be a little sore. I better check it out to make sure you didn’t open up the stitches.”

“Umm…shouldn’t you have thought of that before?” Tim asked without thinking.

“I did think of it, but I figured you could use some toughening up!” Seth snapped, but somehow it didn’t seem as harsh as it could’ve been, it might’ve even carried a slight hint of embarrassment behind it. This made Tim wonder if he hadn’t thought of it until now and was just realizing that chores might not have been the best thing.

“Oh…ok…” 

“Now sit down and let me take a look at it,” Seth’s voice had softened a bit and as Tim sat down he carefully took off his shirt so the Ranger could inspect the wound.  
After carefully unwrapping the bandage Seth poked at the wound a few times. This made Tim wince but he tried to toughen it up and ignore it, but then the tall Ranger hit a particularly sore spot and the teen yelped.

“Calm down it’s not that bad…” Seth said, though he had a frown on his face and that didn’t necessarily reassure Tim.

“How does it look?” The former farm boy asked tentatively.

“It’s not bad…could be better though…I’m going to clean it up some and put some more salve on it, then we can get to work on a project I’ve been working on.”

That peaked Tim’s interest but he decided to keep quiet about it for now.

After a few minutes of rubbing and wiping down the wound Seth finally put some salve on then wrapped it up again.

“There that should be good for now,” the Ranger said then packed up some of the supplies he had brought out before returning them to their rightful spot. 

“So….” the teen said tentatively, wanting to know what Seth’s project was, but not wanting to seem too inquisitive.

The Ranger looked at Tim for a second and raised his eyebrows, “So…what?” he asked but there was a slight hint of teasing in his voice.

“The project? You said we could start working on it once you finished cleaning my shoulder…”

“Man kids sure are impatient these days…” Seth muttered but a small smile had grown on his face. “Come and sit down at the table.”

Tim quickly pulled his shirt back over his chest before getting up from his spot near the fireplace and walking over to the table. Sitting down the brown haired teen watched as the tall Ranger pulled out some sheets of paper and placed them in front of him. Squinting his eyes Tim looked at the paper carefully, there were markings all over it and they were all lined up in a row with a blank section underneath them. 

“What is this for?”

“What do you think, I’m going to teach you how to read and write.”

At that Tim looked up at the Ranger in excitement, “Wait, really?!?” 

A genuine smile grew on Seth’s face and he nodded, “Yup, now let’s get started.”

 

——————————————————————————

 

The rest of the night was comprised of Seth showing Tim the different letters of the alphabet along with making him try to copy each of the letters in turn. As would be expected the letters didn’t look that great at first but with practice they started looking at least somewhat legible.

And so the days continued, with Tim tiding up the cabin during the day and practicing his writing at night. At one point Seth had even tried to teach the teen how to cook but being horrible at it himself he wasn’t a very good teacher and Tim turned out not to be a great cook either. This fact resulted in the two of them going into town quite a few times, sometimes to eat and other times to buy already cooked food. It turned out this was how Seth had been living ever since he had been assigned to the fief and since it resulted in a decent meal each time Tim didn’t complain. At one point the auburn haired Ranger even showed the teen a few self defense moves, figuring that even if the boy wasn’t accepted as his apprentice that he could still use some pointers on how to take care of himself.

Then one day Tim woke up all on his own and he immediately knew something was going to be different about today. Seth had recently been waking him up a little after dawn each morning but now it was well past that and as the teen looked around he didn’t see the tall Ranger anywhere. A frown grew on the young teen’s face, Seth hadn’t told him that he was going to be going out, but maybe it had just slipped his mind? Tim had noticed that the young Ranger seemed to be somewhat forgetful at times…”That’s probably what happened, maybe he’s going to pick up more dried meat or something.” 

Trying not to think about it too much, the brown haired teen started boiling some water and cutting up some day old bread from yesterday for breakfast. Bread and tea was pretty much the only thing him or Seth could manage to make that didn’t turn out horribly burnt so it had become a breakfast staple. 

Tim had just put a tea bag in the pot of boiling water when he heard hoofsteps outside. Placing the pot back over the fire he raced outside and saw Seth riding up on Stepper. “Where were you?” the teen asked, curiosity seeping into his voice has he saw that there where a few small bundles attached to Stepper’s saddle.

“Oh no where in particular, I had to go into town to pick something up…” Seth said as he dismounted the chestnut horse. But even as he spoke Tim could tell something was up, there was an excitement in the Ranger’s voice and sure enough when the auburn haired man turned around he was grinning.

“What’s going on? You never look this happy after just going into town…” Tim asked, curiosity and anticipation building up in his chest.

Seth started chuckling and shaking his head slightly, “My aren’t you perceptive. But it’s partly my fault I suppose, I’ve never been the best at hiding my emotions, unless it’s a dangerous situation mind you.”

“Seeeeth, what’s going on!” Tim asked, knowing he sounded a little whiny but he couldn’t help it, he hated being kept in suspense.

Once again Seth chuckled and the teen realized he was enjoying keeping him in suspense, which only made Tim even more anxious to know what this was all about.  
“Oh nothing, I was just going into town to grab some supplies when I decided to stop by the castle,” Seth said, trying to sound bored, but it wasn’t quite working. 

“The castle? Why would you….?” Tim trailed off as a thought struck him, “Wait…did you hear back from Gilan? Did he say if I could train as a Ranger?” As he spoke Tim’s excitement grew and he was even more anxious to hear what Seth had to say.

“As a matter of fact yes, I did get a message from Gilan,” the Ranger said as he loosened Stepper’s girth and started leading the chestnut horse to the stables.

“And?” Tim said, quickly following after Seth, not wanting to wait until after he has taken care of his horse to hear the news only to come to a stop as the Ranger stopped and turned to smile at him. Then reaching up Seth untied the bundle that was attached to Stepper’s saddle and tossed it to Tim.

“What is this?”

“It’s you outfit, all Ranger’s where the same clothes, helps up blend in.”

“Wait, you mean…?” Tim started then quickly unwrapped the bundle to find a molted green cloak and along with a few shirts and pants, “I was excepted?!?” 

Seth grinned and nodded, “Yup, congratulations Tim, you’re now on your way to becoming a Ranger.”


End file.
